A number of clerics and members of Illegal Armed Groups (IAGs) from the Laal-Sar-e-Jangal district of Ghor province recently sentenced three local families to exile in a "Dadgah-e-Sahrayee" for supposedly being found guilty of running a prostitution racket. The families were told to leave the district soon after the conclusion of the extralegal judicial proceeding.

Officials at the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) called the verdict "unconstitutional" and made it clear that no individual or group had the right to enforce such judgments outside of the officials judicial channels of Afghan criminal law. The AIHRC called the Dadgah-e-Sahrayee a "kangaroo court," and urged Afghan authorities to take measures to prevent such extralegal enforcement activities in communities around the country.

The clerics and IAG leaders who presided over the Dadgah-e-Sahrayee exiled the families of Syed Hussain, Syed Kabir and Syed Taqi. They also imposed a fine of 300,000 AFN on them and ordered them to leave the area within 15 days after Eid al-Fitr.

The three families have since registered complaints with several government offices in the province since the ruling was issued and are awaiting official action.

"The trial was unlawful and we were not allowed to have legal representation. The 'kangaroo court' gave a verdict in the absence of any government officials. It was a one-sided judgment and I request that government officials investigate the case," Mr. Hussain said.

Syed Anwar Rahmati, the Governor of Ghor province, acknowledged the incident and said that provincial security officials would not allow such a extralegal enforcement operation to continue to exist. However he mentioned that if these families are found guilty for the crimes they are accused of in a legitimate court of law, they will be prosecuted and sentenced for their crimes.

"Security institutions are investigating the case and steps are being taken to close down the false courts," said Mr. Rahmati.

"The judgment of the kangaroo court is unconstitutional. According to human rights principles and the prevailing laws of Afghanistan, citizens are free to live in any part of the country and no organization, party or group is allowed to send people into exile," said Abdul Qader Rahimi, head of the AIHRC office in Herat.

The presence of reportedly over 100 IAGs in Ghor province has been one of the biggest concerns facing the provincial government. With the growing presence of these bands of heavily armed outlaws has come a deterioration in the province's security situation and a rise in crime rates.